Sports Broncos

The Broncos are a franchise at a crossroads

If general manager John Elway fires Joseph, he will be charged with hiring a fourth head coach since 2011

By Ryan O'Halloran

The Denver Post

Posted:
12/28/2018 08:25:17 PM MST

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (55) on the bench late in the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum December 24, 2018. Broncos lost 27-14. (Andy Cross / THE DENVER POST)

Take solace, Broncos Country. Case Keenum understands and shares your disappointment of another lost season for the region's pro football team.

"Nobody in this building likes losing," the Broncos' first-year quarterback said earlier this week. "Nobody in this city likes losing. I hate it."

But losing is on the cusp of becoming the new normal in Denver, if the Broncos weren't there already.

A season that started in September with tepid expectations — maybe go 9-7, possibly qualify for the playoffs and hopefully erase the stench of 2017 — dissolved into a disjointed mess. The Broncos are in unfamiliar territory entering Sunday's finale against the favored Los Angeles Chargers: Irrelevancy.

Three years after their Super Bowl 50 victory, they are closer to being one of the NFL's worst teams than they are to being linked with the elite group of New Orleans, the Los Angeles Rams, New England and Kansas City.

The Broncos (6-9) have clinched consecutive losing seasons for the first time in 46 years, snapping the NFL's longest active streak. A loss Sunday would mean back-to-back years of at least 10 losses for the first time since 1968.

"I mean, it (stinks)," inside linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "But it's what has happened. I don't even know what to say."

That somebody as insightful as Marshall is at a loss for words signals how maddening the last four months in general — but the last three weeks, in particular — have been for the Broncos.

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It should not be ending this way.

The night of Dec. 2, the Broncos flew home from Cincinnati with a 6-6 record, three consecutive wins and were in legitimate playoff contention.

But if coach Vance Joseph is fired Monday, he can point to the first half of the Dec. 9 game at San Francisco as a root cause. The two-win 49ers outclassed the Broncos, racing to a 20-0 lead. That triggered what has become a three-game losing skid.

"After the Cincinnati game, there was obviously some really good energy," tight end Matt LaCosse said. "Everybody was excited, especially coming off beating Pittsburgh (on Nov. 25). We were like, 'Let's go prove it again in Cincinnati.' And we did. It's really surprising what has happened."

Surprising is how poorly the Broncos have played against some of the league's worst teams. They lost to the New York Jets, San Francisco and Oakland, who are a combined 12-33 this year. That should — and ultimately will — fall on Joseph. Sure, Elway's draft record pre-2018 was spotty, but the roster still had enough talent to beat those opponents.

"It's just unfortunate we're not in a better situation," defensive end Adam Gotsis said.

The Broncos' situation: A crossroads throughout the organization.

The Bowlen family is split about who should succeed owner Pat Bowlen. A three-person trust has run the team since 2014 and two of Pat's seven children, Beth Bowlen Wallace and Brittany Bowlen, have announced their desire to succeed him. And Pat's brother, Bill, sued the trustees in October, asking the court to remove them from power. The legal wrangling since has been long on paperwork but short on substance and non-existent in terms of a resolution.

If general manager John Elway fires Joseph, he will be charged with hiring a fourth head coach since 2011. And because of Keenum's uneven season, Elway should also be searching for quarterback help.

The Broncos are essentially in the same place they were seven years ago, before Peyton Manning chose to sign with them for his career-closing chapter.

In the three years prior to Manning's arrival, the Broncos went 20-28 with two head coaches and quarterbacks apiece. In the three years since he retired, the Broncos are 20-27 with two head coaches and four quarterbacks.

Granted, there has been bad luck this year. Injuries to multiple starters tested the Broncos' depth. Even one of the few bright spots, undrafted rookie running back and Denver South alum Phillip Lindsay, could not make it to the finish line because of a wrist injury that robbed him of a Pro Bowl appearance. But every NFL team has multiple injury issues and finds a way through it.

The Broncos' challenge moving forward is re-discovering a way to the playoffs, even when adversity strikes.

"I feel like we've played some good ball this year," Gotsis said. "We dropped a few games that we wish we could have back, but we can't

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